The new barbarians II.

Today, the SCLM is up in arms over the execution of an American civilian worker by a group in Iraq claiming ties to Al Q'aeda. The gruesome footage is being posted all over the interweb, so I can't be bothered to feed the beast here.

Why Nick Berg went to Iraq is unknown. Maybe he wanted to turn a quick buck, maybe he just wanted to help. Whatever the reason, I doubt it warranted having his head sawn off on camera. However, as we brace for the inevitable call for vengeance coming from the neofascist elements of American society, we must keep in mind that meeting barbarism with barbarism is not only contrary to the principles for which "we" claim we're in Iraq to uphold (though only the stupid, naive or willfully blind believe in those anymore), but is precisely the kind of response the men who perpetrated this act are hoping for. Like Bush and his gang, the jihadists want war. They want to widen the rift between North and South, the Arab world and "the rest". Berg's death simply contributes to the all-too prevalent attitude that "these people" are animals and should be treated accordingly. Reprisals against Iraqis (and believe me, they'll happen, whether under official sanction or not) will drive more to the jihadi cause and lock us further into a cycle of violence and brutality from which we'll never escape.

It was a brutal act, more brutal than the execution and subsequent mutilation of the four U.S. mercenaries..er "private security forces" in Fallujah a few weeks back. I'm sure it's equally brutal to the kind of acts occupation troops carry out that we never read about in the papers, but hear whispers of in every corner, acts that would doubtless make the photos from Abu Ghirabi look like the college prank Rush Limbaugh says they were. If I were paranoid (which I undoubtedly am), I would question the sudden appearance of this footage in the midst of the prisoner abuse scandal that had only begun to gain momentum. But even if one casts aside conspiracy theories (which are increasingly becoming the only way to make sense of this fucked up world), there's no doubt in my mind that we are reaching a tipping point. Whether it tips in June with the "transition of power" in Iraq, or in November with the U.S. elections, or some other unknown point remains to be seen, but where the chips fall will pretty much shape the course of history.

To paraphrase the old curse: we live in interesting times.